Jahanbakhsh came off the bench in all three of his side’s Group F games but a scoreless draw with Nigeria was followed by a last-gasp 1-0 defeat to Argentina and a 3-1 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina as Team Melli exited at the first hurdle.

The experience, though, proved invaluable for the forward, who has since go on to become one of the leading lights in a side that is now only a home win against Uzbekistan on Monday away from qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.  “It was unbelievably great, I went to the World Cup and I was the youngest player in the Iran squad,” recalled AZ Alkmaar player Jahanbakhsh, who joined Dutch Eredivisie outfit NEC prior to the Brazil tournament when he was just 19-years-old.

Jahanbakhsh on development in Holland

“I was really happy to be there because I could learn a lot and see what the big players did against Argentina. I was looking at their movement and all the things they were doing so I could bring it to my game. “It was a great experience to play at the World Cup after training for six months with the national team, it couldn’t be better than that as it was an opportunity to show my skills and potential.”

Almost three years on since making their fourth appearance at the global showpiece, Iran stand on the brink of advancing to successive FIFA World Cups for the first time in their history.

Four points ahead of Korea Republic at the top of Group A and five ahead of Monday’s opponents with three games to play, Team Melli will secure their place at next year’s tournament if they claim all three points in front of a packed Azadi Stadium.

And, under the stewardship of long-term coach Carlos Queiroz, Jahanbakhsh is keen to point out the influence the Portuguese has had on a squad that is looking to lead their country to a fifth FIFA World Cup.  “He plays the main role in our team and his experience is unbelievably good,” said Jahanbakhsh.

“When you see the results we have got in the last couple of games, of course all the people in Iran are happy with him. The players also have a really good relationship with him and he makes things easy for us.

“These are the things that make him different from other coaches; we are very happy to work for him and hopefully we will keep him for a longer time.”

After starting his senior career with Parseh Tehran, Jahanbakhsh was spotted early and signed for NEC in the summer of 2013, a year after leading his country to the last eight of the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship in China, a tournament where he starred alongside Russia-based forward Sardar Azmoun.

Two successful seasons with NEC followed before, amid reported interest from clubs across Europe, the midfielder opted to stay in the Netherlands and joined AZ Alkmaar. Four years on since making the move to Europe, Jahanbakhsh is integral for both club and country in a career that is undoubtedly on an upward trajectory. “Holland is a country where you can grow up as a footballer,” noted Jahanbakhsh. “The focus they have on the players and the way they work with the players, especially young talented ones, is unbelievably good.

“They have everything to help you achieve your goals, so when I got the offer from NEC I didn’t think, I just moved there and tried to integrate myself into the country and culture.

“Two years ago I moved to AZ Alkmaar. It’s such a good club, always in the top four or five in Holland, so for developing as a young player it’s great. “When you have goals and you have people around who help you to achieve your ambitions that makes you really happy.”

Jahanbakhsh has played in six of Iran’s seven qualifying games to date, scoring the second in a 2-0 victory over Qatar last September, as his country have remained unbeaten and yet to concede.

And while goals have been hard to come by – Team Melli have scored just six in seven games – the threat upfront is undeniable with Persepolis hitman Mehdi Taremi and Rostov’s Azmoun, who moved to Europe just a few months before Jahanbakhsh.

“I’ve known him for five or six years, we played together for the under-19s and have always been good friends, close friends,” he added. “We are always chilling together, having fun with the national team. We grew up together as players and the last few years we have been in the first team of the national team. “He’s been doing very well; he moved to Russia and has scored important goals for his club, even in the UEFA Champions League.

“We have a really young squad with a combination of experienced players and that is what makes the Iran national team and why we are one of the strongest in Asia.”

 The match on Monday against Uzbekistan will be the stepping stone for Qualification to FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia. Team Melli needs the 3 points to qualify with two matches in hand however; it will be facing a tough and none-yielding opponent who has aspirations of their own.

Since the independence of Uzbekistan from the Soviet Union back in 1991 , Iran and Uzbekistan played 7 matches with Iran winning 5 and the Uzbek one only. Ironically, that solitary win for Uzbekistan was registered in Azadi stadium.

Apart from the first ever encounter between the two teams during the Asian Games 1998 in Bangkok, where Iran trounced Uzbekistan 4-0 , the rest of the matches were mostly quite close affairs with one goal difference. In the current qualification rounds of World Cup, both teams started strongly with Uzbekistan being perfect after 2 matches, Iran stuttering against China. The teams then met in Tashkent on matchday 3

Jalal Hosseini scored the only goal of the match and thus Iran never looked back with Uzbekistan playing catch up in the next 4 rounds.

In Matchday 8, even if Uzbekistan wins, it cannot catch Iran up but it will be a tremendous boost for the central Asian nation towards clinching on of the spots for the qualifiers.

Team News Iran

Iran played a friendly game away to Montenegro at the end of a 10 days training camp held in Austria. Despite the host nation’s control on majority of the possession , Team Melli managed to defeat the European opponent 2-1 with a brace from the resurgent Sardar Azmoun. It is important to mention that half of Team Melli players were not available or not used for that match.

Injury List Iran

With all the players available, Queiroz continued  the camp in Tehran with his full contingent. The only scare was Ashkab Dejagah , but now he is fully recoverd from Injury.

Team news Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan preparation culminated in a friendly match against Thailand in Bunyodkor stadium “, Tashkent. With Iranian analyst in presence to note the Uzbek team game plan, the Head coach of Uzbekistan Samvel Babayan fielded a weakened team in the hope of misleading the Iranian analysts. However, Uzbekistan played poorly and the crowds were disappointed by the form of their team while Thailand was simply content with clearing the ball.  

Despite that , the most best chances of scoring were  created by the guests who are in foot of the table in their qualifying group and has lost all chances of qualifying.

Much changed after the break after substitutions were made. Samvel Babayan returned the team to full strength and finally won that match 2-0.  There was causality in this match as midfielder Marat Bikmaev was injured and was forced to leave in the 52nd minute of the game

Injury List Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan Attacking midfielder Marat Bikmaev will miss the match due to injury. The “Locomotive” midfielder sustain injury in a friendly match versus Thailand (2-0), the player was forced to leave in the 52nd minute of the game

According to the preliminary results of the medical examination, Marat Bikmaev will not have time to recover to the qualifying round match against Iran. In addition, another player Davron Hashimov, will also miss the match in Iran due to injury.

Earlier it was reported that due to injuries, the following players could not be available for matches against Thailand and Iran : Vitali Denisov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Islom Tukhtakhodzhaev (Lokomotiv Tashkent) and Alexander Merzlyakov (Kokand-1912).

It is not clear if any of the above will recover in time for the Monday Match.

 

[frame]IRAN vs. UZBEKISTAN[/frame]

 

Venue	Matches	W	D	L	Goals	+ / –
Home	1	0	0	1	0 – 1	-1
Away	4	3	1	0	3 – 0	+3
Neutral	2	2	0	0	6 – 1	+5
Total	7	5	1	1	9 – 2	+7

Injury List

Date Comp. venue Final score Stadium Attendance 06.10.2016 WC Qualifier A 1 – 0 Stadion Bunyodkor (Tashkent) 34,000 11.06.2015 Friendly A 1 – 0 Metropolitan Stadium, Tashkent   14.11.2012 WC Qualifier H 0 – 1 Azadi Stadium , Tehran 40,000 03.06.2012 WC Qualifier A 1 – 0 JAR Stadium -Tashkent 9,000 05.09.2009 Friendly A 0 – 0 Tashkent / Pakhtakor 9,500 11.07.2007 Asian Cup N 2 – 1 National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur 3,000 14.12.1998 Asian Games N 4 – 0 Suphachalasai, Bangkok

The Iranian Football Federation announced the list of 26 player which Carlos Queiroz has picked for the match against Uzbekistan.

The squad, already in camp in Austria, will face Montenegro in a friendly international match before the vital against the Uzbek team which in itself is looking for a win in the hope of clinching a place in next year’s World Cup 2018.

Not a single player from Esteghlal was selected for the team, which is not too surprising after the humiliating defeat by the blue team against Al Ain in the AFC champions league match.

The squad will be trimmed to 23 players for the match according to FIFA regulations governing the competition. The inclusion of Ehsan Pahlavi is the squad is a fresh sign on Queiroz intent to create competition for places in the team.

 

 

 

GOALKEEPERS
AKHBARI, Mohammad Reza	Tractorsazi
BIRANVAND, Alireza	Persepolis
LAK, Hamed	Saipa
MAZAHERI, Mohammad Rashid	Zob Ahan
DEFENDERS
AGHAEI, Saeed	Tractorsazi
ANSARI, Mohammad	Persepolis
HOSSEINI, Jalal	Persepolis
MAHINI, Hossein	Persepolis
MONTAZERI, Pejman	Al Ahli (QAT)
MOHAMMADI, Milad	Grozny (RUS)
POURALIGANJI, Morteza	Al Sadd (QAT)
REZAEIAN, Ramin	no team
MIDFIELD
DEJAGAH, Ashkan	Wolfsburg (GER)
EZATOLLAHEI, Saeed	Enzhi  (RUS)
HAJSAFY, Ehsan	Sepahan
KARIMI, Ali	Locomotive (CRO)
POURGHAZ, Ezzatollah	Saipa
SHOJAEI, Masoud	Pananios (GRE)
FORWARDS
AMIRI, Vahid	Persepolis
ANSARIFARD, Karim	Olympiakos (GRE)
AZMOUN, Sardar	Rostov (RUS)
GHOOCHANEJAD, Reza	Heerneveen (HOL)
JAHANBAKHSH, Alireza	A Z Alkaamar (HOL)
PAHLAVAN, Ehsan	Zb Ahan
TAREMI, Mehdi	Persepolis
TORABI, Mehdi	Saipa

 

Last five matches

Date	Comp.	H / A / N	Final score	Stadium	Attendance
06.09.2016	World Cup Qualifier	A	0 – 0	Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Shenyang
03.09.2010	Friendly	A	2 – 0	Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium.	31000
01.06.2009	Friendly	A	0 – 1	QINHUANGDO Olympic Stadium
09.01.2009	Friendly	H	3 – 1	Azadi – Tehran	10000
19.12.2008	Oman 4 side Tournament	N	2 – 0	Sultan Qaboos Stadium , Muscat	15000

 

Iran Yellow Cards

1st Round

Mehdi TAREMI (2)
Omid EBRAHIMI (2)
Ashkan DEJAGAH (2)

2nd Round

Ashkan DEJAGAH
Ramin REZAEIAN
Pejman MONTAZERI
Vahid AMIRI
Sardar AZMOUN
Milad MOHAMMADI
Mehdi TAREMI
Alireza BIRANVAND

fifa.com

27.March.2017

Tuesday’s matchday 7 in Asia could see Carlos Queiroz’s take another major step towards Russia 2018 by strengthening their position at the Group A summit. Group B joints leaders Saudi Arabia and Japan will, meanwhile, hope to continue their winning form against Iraq and Thailand respectively as they aim to consolidate their places in the top two.

Among the chasing pack of Group A, second-placed Korea Republic and third-placed Uzbekistan must put defeats from the last outings behind them as they aim to bounce back at home against Syria and Qatar. Having stunned Korea Republic 1-0, Marcello Lippi’s China PR travel to Iran aiming to spring another surprise. Australia, meanwhile, are desperate to end their four-match winless streak with a home victory against United Arab Emirates. FIFA.com previews all the action across the continent.

The match
Iran-China PR, Azadi Stadium, Tehran
With qualification firmly in their sights, Iran will look to their extra player – Iran’s football federation has made Tuesday’s game against China free for spectators at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium – as they aim to clinch maximum points at home. Steered by Queiroz, the Iranians have enjoyed arguably the smoothest qualifying campaign over the past two decades. They may be one of the two undefeated sides of this campaign – the other being Australia – but they are the only team to maintain a perfect defensive record with zero goals conceded.

The visitors are, for their part, similarly motivated to gain their second successive victory under Lippi. If their last win against Korea Republic serves to keep their hopes alive, then three points against Iran will truly rekindle their chances – at least for third place. Iran enter the re-encounter with a clear mental edge having won 11 and drawn six from the past 21 meetings. Having recorded their first victory against the South Koreans, though, the Chinese are hoping to continue their newly-rediscovered form by pulling off another major upset in Tehran.

The other attractions
Having been dealt an unexpected defeat at the hands of China, a result which saw the gap to Iran extended to four points, Uli Stielike’s Korea Republic are all too aware that they must win against Syria at home if they are to maintain their place among the top two. Leading Uzbekistan by just a point, Taeguk Warriors could slip to third or even fourth if they drop points at home. Desperate as they are, though, the South Koreans will be wary of the resilient Syria, who currently trail by just two points and can leapfrog their opponents with another surprise triumph.

Elsewhere in Group A, both hosts Uzbekistan and Qatar enter the return hoping in earnest to bounce back from defeats last week. However, it was the Uzbeks who can look to their overwhelming head-to-head qualifying record, having claimed five wins and a draw from seven previous meetings, including a solitary-goal away win in the first leg. A home victory would maintain the hosts’ place among the top three regardless of other results, while the visitors know anything less than three points would be meaningless. Uzbekistan will be missing suspended defender Islom Tukhtakhodjaev, while Qatar will have to make do without the service of midfielder Boualem Khoukhi for the same reason.

In Group B, both joint leaders Saudi Arabia and Japan aim to move clear with victories against Iraq and Thailand, but it is the latter who can look to their dominant record against the rivals. Having won 14 out of 18 previous meetings with the Thais, including prevailing at Bangkok in the first leg, Vahid Halilhodzic’s Samurai Blue will start as strong favourites. The visitors, who will be missing captain Theerathon Bunmathan due to suspension, will become the first eliminated side should they lose and Australia win or draw.

Leading Japan only on goal difference, the Saudis know they must defeat Iraq at home to keep their place in the top. Despite narrowly losing in the first leg, however, the Iraqis boast a strong head-to-head record with 15 wins to nine from 32 meetings. Elsewhere, Australia will be keen to end their run of draws when United Arab Emirates visit Sydney for the first time since a famous win over Japan at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. Interest will focus on the possible selection of veteran talisman Tim Cahill, who scored the only goal of the last game in Abu Dhabi.

Player to watch
Korea Republic will look to their star-attacker Son Heungmin as they seek to bounce back against Syria at home. In a sense, the 24-year-old Tottenham Hotspur winger has established his talismanic role with Taeguk Warriors during this campaign. With Son driving the team, the South Koreans opened the third round brightly by defeating China 3-2 at home. In his absence, though, the nine-time World Cup participants were held to a goalless draw by Syria, before losing to China in the return. Son could well be the point-of-difference against the Syrians on Tuesday.

Do you know?
Saudi Arabia and Iraq stand out as the pairing who are most familiar to each other, having met in 32 internationals down the years. Australia and United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, have a relatively new rivalry with just four games played between them.

What they said
“(Marcello) Lippi has been everywhere in football and he will make China a stronger and more intelligent team. We know that China will be well-organised and will be compact in defence. We have to be patient to try and break their rearguard but also be careful of their counter-attacking,” Iran coach Carlos Queiroz

Matchday 6 fixtures
28 March
Group A:
Korea Republic-Syria
Iran-China PR
Uzbekistan-Qatar

Group B:
Saudi Arabia-Iraq
Australia-United Arab Emirates
Japan-Thailand

Iran’s Team Melli defeated Qatar 1-0 in Doha in the 6th round of the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers. The only goal was scored in the 52nd minute by Mehdi Taremi from a brilliant assist by Karim Ansarifard.

Earlier in the day China beat second place Korea Rep 1-0 while Syria shocked Uzbekistan with the same result in Malaysia.  Iran’s win opened a 4 points gap at the top.

The first half ended goal less draw. 

Despite the general tendency of Queiroz to focus on a defensive side of the game , the Portuguese coach surprised many by fielding an offensive side with three forwards up front, Azmoun, Taremi and Ansarifard. This line up supported by Jahanbakhash on the flank managed to put a lot of pressure on the host team from the early stages of the match. It must also caught the Qatar coach Jorge Fossati by surprise.

Two golden opportunities that went to waste were when Azmoun penetration resulted in confusion among Qatar defenders and the goalkeeper and ending in Ansarifard shooting directly at the goalkeeper Saad Alsheeb who parried  and saved.

The other chance ended in Azmoun hitting close range acute angle shoot that was  saved by Qatari keeper. Other chances were also created by the well-disciplined Team Melli.

The second half must be labelled as the half of wasted chances. Team Melli created chance after chance and a score of 5-0 would not have been too far-fetched. The half started well when the vision of Karim Ansarifard and his quick thinking , put Taremi in a perfect scoring position. Karim’s long ball just inside Qatar’s half  split the Qatari defence  and found Taremi in ample space for him to control the ball in style. The Persepolis striker cool finishing was a delight to watch . 1-0 to Iran

The rest of the match was mainly controlled by Team Melli whose midfield was surprisingly supreme despite the lack of experienced players. Ezatollahie and Hajsafy were forming the makeshift midfield with Jahanbakhsh , did a fine job and maintained a strong defensive presense.  Jahanbakhask , who seemed to forget his shooting boot, missed a couple of good chances while Hajsafy was one on one but failed to beat the Qatari keeper.

Overall , Team Melli was well-drilled, played a balanced game, and deserved the three points. The next 3 points against China , well certainly mean that Team Melli is almost there in Moscow come 2018.